by Jeff James

On January 31, 2022, we officially inaugurated the Agaro Bushi Medium Clinic. Bishop Markos Gebremedhin of the Jimma Bonga Catholic Secretariat blessed every room and the grounds from corner to corner.  Government officials marveled at the quality of the construction and the improbability of constructing such a clinic in this remote place. It truly was an amazing feat. During the rainy season, the mountainous roads were treacherous and impassable for days on end; more times than we can count, our 4-wheel-drive Land Cruiser sank to the doors in mud, only to find good people descending from the countryside, wading into the thick of it to pull our vehicle out.  Other times, large construction trucks carrying tons of cinder block, sand, stone, cement, iron bar, and other building materials made half the distance before having to abandon the supplies on the side of the road. And again, the community came to the rescue, carrying the supplies the rest of the way by pack animal and on the strong and slumped shoulders of local men and women.

The local people’s labor and good will are a testament to the need of this clinic. Carrying the weight of a heavy physical burden pales in comparison to the burden of losing a loved one for lack of adequate medical care.

After the blessing ceremony, numerous speeches were given, all of them sincere, with expressions of hope for the poor people of this community, that a healthier and more prosperous future is within sight.  I was asked to say a few words, and I felt compelled to express the warm wishes from you, our supporters, who funded the bulk of this project.  But also, I reminded the gathering that this is truly a partnership, and each partner is responsible for the success of the construction, and the future success of services to come.

As with so much in development work, partners are essential to success.  Our partnership in Agaro Bushi is fourfold:

• our Swiss partner SAED Etiopia, whose founder Ruth Brogini is a pioneer in this community. 13 years ago, she was moved to tears by the heart wrenching fate of a young woman who died in childbirth because of no access to healthcare. She set about building the first clinic here, a small primary clinic, but struggled to manage it. It was then that she reached out for help to Lalmba, whom she knew was successfully running the Chiri Health Center just 20km away and had a good reputation for quality health care in rural areas.  Soon after, our partnership in rural health care began.
• Next, there is the Ethiopian Catholic Church, which has called us to assist them in God’s service, to heal the sick, feed the hungry, and care for widows and orphans. If there’s a higher calling than that, I know not what it is.
• Then there are the government entities, which have established high standards and “fair” laws for us to follow. Sometimes, it may feel the opposite, that the laws and standards impede our success, and truth be told, we’ve felt great frustration for being judged harshly and held to account for just barely missing the mark on unachievable goals.  But we recognize that if we were not pushed to accomplish the seemingly impossible, we may aim too low.   So, for their high standards, we are grateful.

• And last, but not least, the most important partner in the collective is the people of the community of Agaro Bushi. We say this a lot, but it’s profoundly true, that the people who live in these rural communities are not pitiable souls. They are hardworking, humble people, who laugh and smile with ease, and gracefully go through life enduring problems inconceivable to most of us. They are an inspiration, and it is our honor and duty to help where we can.

At the ceremony, I spoke about how the strength of these new buildings is not merely a reflection of the quality construction, but also a symbol of the potency of our partnership.   If our foundation were built on shifting soil, the structure would collapse.  Our partnerships too must have a solid foundation of mutual trust and respect, a shared vision of what a healthy community looks like, and how to get there.

As for the walls that create the interior space, if the blocks were laid crooked and the cement mixture impure, the walls would crack and crumble within a year.  The walls of our partnership need to be made of pure intentions as well – a love and respect for human life and dignity, and a commitment to compassionate health care.  The windows and doors that open to allow in good things like fresh air and sunshine, can also be closed to keep out harmful elements. The doors and windows of our partnership should be the same, always open to those who are in need, and those who wish to fortify the quality of our work. But we should be quick to close them upon anything that might divide us or create cracks in our walls.

And lastly, no building is complete without a roof; the roof of our partnership is our conscientious stewardship.  We must be thoughtful in our decisions, especially when it comes to spending and the use of our limited resources.  If we spend wastefully or misuse the resources, who suffers the consequences? It is the people of Agaro Bushi, the humble and good people whom we’ve been called to serve. And that would be unconscionable!

The symbolism of a well-built house is easy for people here to understand, where men and women share in the effort to construct their own homes by hand using locally sourced materials.  An unstable foundation, sloping walls or a leaky roof are disastrous for the family, and often the whole building needs to be torn down and reconstructed.  So, with our clinic opening celebration, I hope I was able to illustrate that the strength and beauty of the building is only as good as our shared commitment, good effort and pure intentions for the people of Agaro Bushi.

One year ago, I was here in Ethiopia, right where I am now at the time of this writing, following a girl named Birhane around for a 24-hour period, making the above video, “A Day in the Life of a Chiri Orphan.” You can find the video on our home page at www.lalmba.org or here on YouTube. (https://youtu.be/03-z1s1l-Y8).

For as long as I’ve been doing this work, I had never before had such an intimate look into the daily life of a person we support.  One can glean a lot from brief encounters, but bearing witness to an entire day is an awareness-raising experience.  The gritty details of life are often overlooked, as our biases paint a veneer that conforms to our expectations.  But with enough time to observe the mundane details of life, my spirit grew, and I discovered that despite our vast cultural differences, the palette of our lives is similar — a mixture of drudgery, heart-swelling happiness, boredom, loneliness, hope-inspiring and deflating moments, speckled with the tedious routines of daily life.  The key difference between Birhane’s life and, say, my 14-year-old daughter’s, is the relative physical comfort with which daily functions are performed.

And so, this video had a dual purpose: 1) To give you, our supporters, a peek into the world of the children you help support, and 2) to show you the context of where life takes place, the Chiri Children’s Home.  And thanks to you, we’ve made a big difference in improving the amenities of the place where life happens for these precious children. See for yourself!

This year, our goal is to complete a plumbed water system, rebuild the dormitories and remodel one of the old dormitories into a learning resource center with textbooks, novels, and computer learning stations.  Thank you for your support!